The Rosicrucian Mysteries

by

Max Heindel

[1865-1919]

   In the First Heaven, which is located in the higher regions of the Desire World, the panorama of life again unrolls and reveals every scene where we aimed to help or benefit others. They were not felt at the time the Spirit was in the lower regions, for higher desires cannot express themselves in the coarse matter composing the lower regions of the Desire World; but when the Spirit ascends to the First Heaven it reaps from each scene all the good which it expressed in life. It will feel the gratitude poured out by those whom it helped; if it comes to a scene where itself received a favor from others AND WAS GRATEFUL, it will experience the gratitude anew. The sum of all these feelings is there amalgamated into the Spirit to serve in a future life as incentives to good.

   Thus the Spirit is purged from evil in Purgatory and strengthened in good in the First Heaven. In one region the extract of sufferings become CONSCIENCE to deter us from doing wrong, in the other region the quintessence of good is transmuted to BENEVOLENCE and altruism, which are the basis of all true progress. Moreover, Purgatory is far from being a place of PUNISHMENT. It is perhaps the most beneficent realm in nature, for BECAUSE OF PURGATION WE ARE BORN INNOCENT life after life. The tendencies to commit the same evil for which we suffered remain with us, and temptations to commit the same wrongs will be placed in our placed in our path until we have consciously overcome the evil here. Temptation is not sin, however, the sin is in yielding.

   Among the inhabitants of the invisible world there is one class which lives a particularly painful life, sometimes for a great many years, namely, the suicide who tried to play truant from the school of life. Yet it is not an angry God or a malevolent devil who administers punishment, but an immutable law which proportions the sufferings differently to each individual suicide.

   We learned previously, when considering the World of Thought, that each form in this visible world has its archetype there--a vibrating hollow mold which emits a certain harmonious sound. That sound attracts and forms physical into the shape we behold, much in the same manner as when we place a little sand upon a glass plate and rub the edge with a violin bow; the sand is shaped into different geometrical figures which change as the sound changes.

   The little atom in the heart is the sample and the center around which the atoms in our body gather. When that is removed at death, the center is lacking, and although the archetype keeps on vibrating until the limit of the life has been reached--as also previously explained--no matter can be drawn into the hollow shape of the archetype. Therefore the suicide feels a dreadful gnawing pain as if he were hollowed out, a torture which can only be likened to the pangs of hunger. In his case, the intense suffering will continue for exactly as many years as he should have lived in the body. At the expiration of that time, the archetype collapses as it does when death comes naturally. Then the pain of the suicide ceases, and he commences his period of purgation as do those who die a natural death. But the memory of sufferings experienced in consequence of the act of suicide will remain with him in future lives and deter him from a similar mistake.

   In the First Heaven there is a class who have not had any purgatorial existence and who lead a particularly joyous life: the children. Our home may be saddened almost beyond endurance when the little flower is broken and the sunshine it brought has gone. But could we see the beautiful existence with these little ones lead, and did we understand the great benefits which accrue to a child from its limited stay there, our sorrow would be at least ameliorated in a great measure, and the wound upon our heart would heal more quickly. Besides, as nothing else in the world happens without a cause, so there is also a much deeper cause for infant mortality than we are usually aware of, and as we awake to the facts of the case, we shall be able to avoid in future the sorrow incident to loss of our little ones.

   To understand the case properly we must revert to the experiences of the dying in the death hour. We remember that the panorama of the past life is etched upon the desire body during a period varying from a few hours to three and one-half days just subsequent to demise. We recall also that upon the depth of this etching depends the clearness of the picture, and that the more vivid this panorama of life, the more intensely will the Spirit suffer in Purgatory and feel the joys of heaven; also, that the greater the suffering Purgatory the stronger the conscience in the next life.

   It was explained how the horrors of death upon the battle field, in an accident, or other untoward circumstances would prevent the Spirit from giving all its attention to the panorama of life, with the result that there would be a light etching in the desire body, followed by a vague and insipid existence in Purgatory and the First Heaven. It was also stated that hysterical lamentations in the death chamber would produce the same effect.

   A Spirit which had thus escaped suffering proportionate to its misdeeds, and which had not experienced the pleasure commensurate with the good it had done, would not in a future life have as well developed a conscience as it ought to have, nor would it be as benevolent as it ought to be, and therefore the life, terminated under conditions over which the Spirit had no control, would be partly wasted. The Great Leaders of humanity therefore take steps to counteract such a calamity and prevent an injustice. The Spirit is brought to birth, caused to die in childhood, re-enters the Desire World and in the First Heaven it is taught the lessons of which it was deprived previously.

   As the First Heaven is located in the Desire World (which is the realm of light and color), where matter is shaped most readily by thought, the little ones are given wonderful toys impossible of construction here. They are taught to play with COLORS, WHICH WORK UPON THEIR MORAL CHARACTER in exactly the manner each child requires. Anyone who is at all sensitive is affected by the color of his clothing and surroundings. Some colors have a depressing effect, while others inspire us with energy, and others again soothe and comfort us. In the Desire World the effect of colors is much more intense; they are much more potent factors of good and evil there than here. In this color play, the child imbibes unconsciously the qualities which it did not acquire on account of accident or lamentations of relatives. Often it also falls to the lot of such relatives to care for a child and see it die. Thus they receive just retribution for the wrong committed. As wars cease, and man learns to be more careful of life, also how to care for the dying, infant mortality, which now is so appalling, will decrease.

   When both the good and evil of a life have been extracted, the Spirit discards its desire body and ascends to the Second Heaven. The desire body then commences to disintegrate as the physical body and the vital body have done, but it is a peculiarity of desire-stuff that, once it has been formed and inspired with life, it persists for a considerable time. Even after that life has fled it lives a semiconscious, independent life. Sometimes it is drawn by magnetic attraction to relatives of the Spirit whose clothing it was, and at spiritualistic seances these SHELLS generally impersonate the departed Spirit and deceive its relatives. As the panorama of the past life is etched into the shells, they have a memory of incidents in connection with these relatives, which facilitates the deception. But as the intelligence has fled, they are of course unable to give any true counsel, and that accounts for the inane, goody-goody nonsense of which these things deliver themselves.

   When passing from the First to the Second Heaven, the Spirit experiences the condition known and described previously as THE GREAT SILENCE, where it stands utterly alone, conscious only of its divinity. When that silence is broken there floats in upon the Spirit celestial harmonies of THE WORLD OF TONE where the Second Heaven is located. It seems then to lave in an ocean of sound and to experience a joy beyond all description and words, as it nears its heavenly home--for this is the first of the truly spiritual realms from which the Spirit has been exiled during its Earth life and the subsequent post-mortem existence. In the Desire World its work was CORRECTIVE, but in the World of Thought the human Spirit becomes one with the nature forces and its CREATIVE activity begins.

   Under the Law of Causation we reap exactly what we sow, and it would be wrong to place one Spirit in an environment where there is a scarcity of the necessities of life, where a scorching sun burns the crop and millions die from famine, or where the raging flood sweeps away primitive habitations not built to withstand its ravages, and to bring another Spirit to birth in a land of plenty, with fertile soil which yields a maximum of increase with a minimum of labor, where the earth is rich in minerals that may be used in industry to facilitate transportation of products of the soil from one point to another.

   If we were thus placed without action or acquiescence upon our part, there would be no justice, but as our post-mortem existence in Purgatory and the First Heaven is based upon our moral attitude in this life, so our activities in the Second Heaven are determined by our mental aspirations. They produce our future physical environment, for in the Second Heaven, the Spirit becomes part of the nature forces which work upon the earth and change its climate, flora, fauna. A Spirit of an indolent nature, who indulges in daydreams and metaphysical speculations HERE, is not transformed by death respecting its mental attitude any more than regarding its moral propensities. It will dream away time in heaven, glorying in its sights and sounds. Thus it will neglect to work upon its future country and return to a barren and arid land. Spirits, on the other hand, whose material aspirations lead them to desire so-called solid comforts of hearth and home, who aim to promote great industries, and whose mind is concerned in trade and commerce, will build in heaven a land that will suit their purpose: fertile, mineralized, with navigable rivers and sheltered harbors. They will return in time to enjoy upon Earth the fruits of their labors in the Second Heaven, as they reap the result of their life upon Earth in Purgatory and the First Heaven.

   In the Third Heaven most people have very little consciousness, for reasons explained in connection with the Region of Abstract Thought, for there the Third Heaven is located. It is therefore more of a place of waiting where the Spirit rests between the time when its labors in the Second Heaven have been completed and the time when it again experiences the desire for rebirth. But from this realm inventors bring down their original ideas, there the philanthropist obtains the clearest vision of how to realize his utopian dreams, and the spiritual aspirations of the saintly minded are given renewed impetus.

   In time the desires of the Spirit for further experiences draw it back to rebirth, and the great celestial Beings who are known in the Christian Religion as Recording Angels, assist the Spirit to come to birth in the place best suited to give it the experience necessary further to unfold its powers and possibilities.

   We have all been here many times and in different families, we have had relations of varying nature with many different people, and usually there are several families among whom we may seek re-embodiment to work out our self-generated destiny and reap what we have sown in former lives. If there are no special reasons why we should take birth in any particular family among certain friends or foes, the Spirit is allowed to choose its own place of birth. Thus it may be said that most of us are in our present places by our own prenatal choice.

   In order to assist us in making that choice the Recording Angels call up before the Spirit's vision a panorama in general outlines of each of the offered lives. This panorama will show what part of our past debts we are to pay, and what fruits we may be expected to reap in the coming life.

   The Spirit is left free to choose between the several lives offered. But once a choice has been made no evasion is possible during life. We have free will with regard to the future, but the past MATURE destiny we cannot escape, as shown by the incident recorded in THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION, where the writer warned a well known Los Angeles lecturer that if he left his home upon a certain day, he would be injured by a conveyance, in head, neck, breast and shoulders. The gentleman believed and intended to heed our warning. Nevertheless, he went to Sierra Madre to lecture upon the fateful day. He was injured by a collision in the places stated and later explained: "I thought the twenty-eighth was the twenty-ninth."

   When the Spirit has made its choice, it descends into the Second Heaven where it is instructed by the Angels and Archangels how to build an archetype of the body which it will later inhabit upon Earth. Also here we note the operation of the great Law of Justice which decree that we reap what we sow. If our tastes are coarse and sensual, we shall build an archetype which will express these qualities; if we are refined and of aesthetic taste, we shall build an archetype correspondingly refined, but no one can obtain a better body than he can build. Then, as the architect who builds a house in which he afterwards lives, will suffer discomfort if he neglects to ventilate it properly, so also the Spirit feels disease in a poorly constructed body. As the architect learns to avoid mistakes and remedy the shortcomings of one house when building another, so also the Spirit which suffers from defects in its body learns in time to build better and better vehicles.

   In the Region of Concrete Thought, the Spirit also draws to itself materials for a new mind. As a magnet draws iron filings but leaves other substances alone, so also each Spirit draws only the kind of mind-stuff which it used in its former life, plus that which it has learned to use in its present post-mortem state. Then it descends into the Desire World where it gathers materials for a new desire body such as will express appropriately its moral characteristics. Later it attracts a certain amount of ether which is built into the mold of the archetype Constructed in the Second Heaven and acts as cement between the solids, liquids, and gaseous material from the bodies of parents which form the dense physical body of a child, and in due time the latter is brought to birth.

   It must not be imagined, however, that when the little body of a child has been born, the process of birth is completed. The dense physical body has had the longest evolution, and as a shoemaker who has worked at his trade for a number of years is more expert than an apprentice and can make better shoes and QUICKER, so also the Spirit which has built many physical bodies produces them quickly, but the vital body is a later acquisition of the human being. Therefore we are not so expert in building that vehicle. Consequently, it takes longer to construct it from the materials not used in making the lining of the archetype, and the vital body is not born until the seventh year. Then the period of rapid growth commences. The desire body is a still later addition of composite man, and is not brought to birth until the fourteenth year, when the desire nature expresses itself most strongly during the so-called "hot" youth, and the mind, which makes man, does not come to birth until the twenty-first year. In law that age is recognized as the earliest time he is fitted to exercise a franchise.

   This knowledge is of the utmost importance to parents, as a proper understanding of the development which should take place in each of the septenary epochs enables the educator to work intelligently with nature and thus fulfill more thoroughly the trust of a parent than those who are ignorant of the Western Mystery Teaching. We shall therefore devote the remaining pages to an elucidation of this matter and to the importance of the knowledge of astrology upon the part of the parent.

   "God is Light," says the Bible, and we are unable to conceive of a grander simile of His omnipresence, or the mode of His manifestation. Even the greatest telescopes have failed to reach the boundaries of light, though they reveal to us stars millions of miles from the Earth, and we may well ask ourselves, as did the Psalmist of old: "Whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend into heaven Thou art there, if I make my bed in the grave Thou art there, if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. Even there shall thy hand lead me."

   When, in the dawn of Being, GOD THE FATHER enunciated THE WORD, and THE HOLY SPIRIT moved upon the sea of homogeneous VIRGIN MATTER, primeval DARKNESS was turned to LIGHT. That is therefore, the prime manifestation of Deity, and a study of the principles of Light will reveal to the mystic intuition a wonderful source of spiritual inspiration. As it would take us too far afield from our subject we shall not enter into an elucidation of that theme here, except so far as to give an elementary idea of how divine Life energizes the human frame, and stimulates to action.

   Truly, God is ONE and undivided. He unfolds within His being all that is, as the white light embraces all colors. But He appears threefold in manifestation, as the white light is refracted in three primary colors: blue, yellow, and red. Wherever we see these colors they are emblematical of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three primary rays of divine Life are diffused or radiated through the Sun and produce LIFE, CONSCIOUSNESS, AND FORM upon each of the seven light-bearers, the planets, which are called "the Seven Spirits before the Throne." Their names are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Bode's Law proves that Neptune and Pluto do not "belong" to our solar system. See SIMPLIFIED SCIENTIFIC ASTROLOGY by the present writer for mathematical demonstration of this conception.

   Each of the seven planets receives the light of the Sun in a different measure, according to its proximity to the central orb and the constitution of its atmosphere, and the beings upon each, according to their stage of development, have affinity for some of the solar rays. They absorb the colors congruous to them, and reflect the remainder upon the other planets. This reflected ray bears with it an impulse of the nature of the beings with which it has been in contact.

   Thus the divine Light and Life comes to each planet, either directly from the Sun, or reflected from its sister planets, and as the summer breeze which has been wafted over blooming fields carries upon its silent invisible wings the blended fragrance of a multitude of flowers, so also the subtle influences from the garden of God bring to us the co-mingled impulses of all the Spirits, and in that varicolored light we live and move and have our being.

   The rays which come directly from the Sun are productive of spiritual illumination, the reflected rays from other planets make for added consciousness and moral development, and the rays reflected by way of the Moon give physical growth.

   But as each planet can absorb only a certain quantity of one or more colors according to the general stage of evolution there, so each being upon Earth: mineral, plant, animal, and man, can only absorb and thrive upon a certain quantity of the various rays projected upon the Earth. The remainder do not affect it or produce sensation, any more than the blind are conscious of light and color which exists everywhere around them. Therefore each being is differently affected by the stellar rays, and the science of astrology, a fundamental truth in nature, is of enormous benefit in the attainment of spiritual growth.

   From a horoscopic figure in mystic script we may learn our own strength and weakness, with the path best suited to our development, or we may see the tendencies of those friends who come to us as children, and what traits are dormant in them. Thus we shall know clearly how to discharge our duty as parents, by repressing evil before it comes to birth, and fostering good so that it may bring forth most abundantly the spiritual potencies of the Spirit committed to our care.

   As we have already said, man returns to Earth to reap that which he has sown in previous lives and to sow anew the seeds which make for future experience. The stars are the heavenly time keepers which measure the year; the Moon indicates the month when the time will be propitious to harvest or to sow.

   The child is a mystery to us all. We can know its propensities only as they slowly develop into characteristics, but it is usually too late to check when evil habits have been formed and the youth is upon the downward grade. A horoscope cast for the time of birth in a scientific manner shows the tendencies to good or evil in the child, and if a parent will take the time and trouble necessary to study the science of the stars, he or she may do the child entrusted to his or her care an inestimable service by fostering tendencies to good and repressing the evil bent of a child ere it has crystallized into habit. Do not imagine that a superior mathematical knowledge is necessary to erect a horoscope. Many construct a horoscope in such an involved manner, so "fearfully and wonderfully made," that it is unreadable to themselves or others, while a simple figure, easy of reading, may be constructed by anyone who knows how to add and subtract. This method has been thoroughly elucidated in SIMPLIFIED SCIENTIFIC ASTROLOGY, which is a complete text book, though small and inexpensive, and parents who have the welfare of their children thoroughly at heart should endeavor to learn the stellar science for themselves. Even though their ability may not compare with that of a professional astrologer, their intimate knowledge of the child and their deep interest will more than compensate for such lack and enable them to see most deeply into the child's character by means of its horoscope.

   Respecting the birth of the various vehicles and the influence which that has upon life, we may say that during the time from birth to the seventh year the lines of growth of the physical body are determined, and as it has been noted that sound is builder both in the great and small, we may well imagine that rhythm must have an enormous influence upon the growing and sensitive little child's organism. The apostle John in the first chapter of his Gospel expresses this idea mystically in the beautiful words: "In the beginning was the WORD...and without it was not anything made that was made... and the word became flesh." The Word is a rhythmic sound, which issued from the Creator, reverberated through the universe and marshaled countless millions of atoms into the multiplex variety of shapes and forms which we see about us. The mountain, the mayflower, the mouse, and the man are all embodiments of the great Cosmic Word which is still sounding through the universe and which is still building and ever building though unheard by our insensitive ears. But though we do not hear that wonderful celestial sound, we may work upon the little child's body by terrestrial music, and though the nursery rhymes are without sense, they are nevertheless bearers of a wonderful rhythm. The more a child is taught to say, sing, and repeat them, to dance and to march to them, the more music is incorporated into a child's daily life, the stronger and healthier will be its body in future years.

   There are two mottoes which apply during this period, one to the child and the other to the parent: EXAMPLE AND IMITATION. No creature under heaven is more imitative than a little child, and its conduct in after years will depend largely upon the example set by its parents during its early life. It is no use to tell the child "not to mind." It has no mind wherewith to discriminate, but follows its natural tendency, as water flows down a hill, when it imitates. Therefore it behooves every parent to remember from morning till night that watchful eyes are upon him all the time, waiting but for him to act in order to follow his example.

   It is of the utmost importance that the child's clothing should be very loose, particularly the clothing of little boys, as chafing garments often product vices which follow a man through life.

   If anyone should attempt forcibly to extract a babe from the protecting womb of its mother, the outrage would result in death, because the babe had not yet arrived at a maturity sufficient to endure impacts of the Physical World. In the three septenary periods which follow birth, the invisible vehicles are still in the womb of Mother Nature. If we teach a child of tender years to memorize, or to think, or if we arouse its feelings and emotions, we are in fact opening the protecting womb of nature, and the results are equally as disastrous in other respects as a forced premature birth. Child prodigies usually become men and women of less than ordinary intelligence. We should not hinder the child from learning or thinking OF HIS OWN VOLITION, but we should not goad them on as parents often do to nourish their own pride.

   When the vital body is born at the age of seven a period of growth begins and a new motto, or rather a new relation, is established between parent and child. This may be expressed by the two words AUTHORITY and DISCIPLESHIP. In this period the child is taught certain lessons which it takes upon faith in the authority of its teachers, whether at home or at school, and as memory is a faculty of the vital body it can now memorize what is learned. It is therefore eminently teachable; particularly because it is unbiased by preconceived opinions which prevent most of us from accepting new views. At the end of this second period, from about twelve to fourteen, the vital body has been so far developed that puberty is reached. At the age of fourteen we have the birth of the desire body, which marks the commencement of self-assertion. In earlier years the child regards itself more as belonging to a family, and subordinate to the wishes of its parents than after the fourteenth year. The reason is this: In the throat of the fetus and the young child there is a gland called the thymus gland, which is largest before birth, then gradually diminishes through the years of childhood and finally disappears at ages which vary according to the characteristics of the child.

   Anatomists have been puzzled as to the function of this organ and have not yet come to any settled conclusion, but it has been suggested that before development of the red marrow bones, the child is not able to manufacture its own blood, and that therefore the thymus gland contains an essence, supplied by the parents, upon which the child may draw during infancy and childhood, till able to manufacture its own blood. That theory is approximately true, and as the family blood flows in the child, it looks upon itself as part of the family and not as an Ego. But the moment it commences to manufacture its own blood, the Ego asserts itself; it is no longer papa's girl or mama's boy; it has an "I"-dentity of its own.

   Then comes the critical age when parents reap what they have sown. The mind has not yet been born, nothing holds the desire nature in check, and much, very much, depends upon how the child has been taught in earlier years and what example the parents have set. At this point in life self-assertion, the feeling "I AM MYSELF," is stronger than at any other time, and therefore authority should give place to advice. The parent should practice the utmost tolerance, for at no time in life is a human being as much in need of sympathy as during the seven years from fourteen to twenty-one when the desire nature is rampant and unchecked.

   It is a crime to inflict corporal punishment upon a child at any age. Might is never right, and as the stronger, parents should always have compassion for the weaker. But there is one feature of corporal punishment which makes it particularly dangerous to apply it to the youth: namely, that it wakens the passional nature which is already perhaps beyond the control of the growing boy.

   If we whip a dog, we shall soon break its spirit and transform it into a cringing cur, and it is deplorable that some parents seem to regard it as their mission in life to break the spirit of their children with the rule of the rod. If there is one universal lack among the human race which is more apparent than any other, it is lack of will, and as parents we may remedy the evil in a large measure by guiding the wills of our children along such lines as dictated by our own more mature reason. Thus we help them to grow a backbone instead of a wishbone, with which unfortunately most of us are afflicted. Therefore, never whip a child; if punishment is needed, correct by withholding favors or withdrawing privileges.

   At the twenty-first year the birth of the mind transforms the youth into an adult fully equipped to commence his own life in the school of experience.

   Thus we have followed the human Spirit around a life cycle from death to birth and maturity; we have seen how immutable law governs its every step and how it is ever encompassed by the loving care of the great and glorious Beings who are the ministers of God. The method of his future development will be explained in a later work which will deal with THE CHRISTIAN MYSTIC INITIATION.

   Work in the Physical World requires physical means of accomplishment; therefore a tract of land was bought in 1911 in the town of Oceanside, ninety miles south of Los Angeles, California. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WAS SELECTED BECAUSE OF THE ABUNDANCE OF ETHER IN THE ATMOSPHERE THERE, AND THIS SPOT WAS FOUND TO BE PARTICULARLY FAVORED IN THAT RESPECT.

   On this commanding site having a wide view of the great Pacific Ocean, of snow capped mountains and smiling valleys, we began to establish our Headquarters in the latter part of 1911. Soon after this we erected a sanctuary, the Pro-Ecclesia, where the Rosicrucian Temple Service is held at appropriate times. The Rose Cross Healing Circle holds its meetings there to help sufferers, and it is the place appointed for the united morning and evening devotions of the workers. In the latter half of 1920 we built an Ecclesia, which is designed to be a Temple of Healing. The building, a beautiful domed structure, is of steel and reinforced concrete. It is twelve sided in shape, corresponding to the twelve signs of the zodiac. At the present writing, January, 1921, the final work upon it is just being completed. The esoteric work of the Fellowship will be carried on here.

   We have also built a two-story Administration Building to house the general office, the book department, the correspondence school in Christian Mysticism which links Headquarters with students all over the world, and the editorial offices of our monthly publications, notably THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE--RAYS FROM THE ROSE CROSS. We have also an astrological department which conducts a correspondence school. Its offices are located on the second floor.

   The whole first floor is occupied by a modern printing plant and book bindery required to furnish the immense amount of literature needed in this work. In the book department we publish all the standard works and text books of the Rosicrucian Philosophy written by Max Heindel. We are now in the process of publishing in book form his former lessons to students.

   In October, 1920, a Training School was established for the preparation of candidates for the lecture field. it is our intention thereby to maintain a Lecture Bureau, from which we will send our lecturers throughout the country to disseminate the Teachings and carry the message of our Philosophy to the people to a greater extent than has before been possible.

   A Dining Hall with seating capacity for over one hundred people affords ample accommodation for workers, students, and patients. The scientific meatless diet served there preserves or restores health, as required in each case. Furthermore, it improves the vitality and mentality to an astonishing degree. A large dormitory, and a number of cottages and tents provide living quarters for all.

   By the liberal use of water and the expenditure of much labor, Mount Ecclesia is gradually being transformed into a luxuriant tropical park. There is a deep spiritual purpose in this attempt to make the visible center of the new world movement beautiful, for it fosters in the workers a poise and peace which are absolutely essential to the proper performance of their work. Without that they cannot escape being disturbed by the flood of sorrow and trouble which flows in Headquarters from members all over the world; without that they cannot continue to put heart into the letters of help, hope, and cheer which continually go out to souls who are groaning under the burden of sickness; but by bathing their souls in the beauty of the surroundings, whether consciously or not, they gain in strength and grow in grace; they become better and better fitted for the Great Work in the Master's Vineyard.

   In order to aid those who feel the upward urge to prepare intelligently and reverently for the unfoldment of their inner latent spiritual powers, The Rosicrucian Fellowship maintains two correspondence courses which furnish instruction to students all over the world. One deals with ASTROLOGY, the other with CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM (The Rosicrucian Philosophy).

   The astrology to which we refer is not to be confounded with fortune- telling; it is a phase of the mystic religion, as sublime as the stars with which it deals. To the mystic the stars are not dead bodies moving in space in obedience to so-called blind natural law, but they are the embodiments of THE SEVEN SPIRITS BEFORE THE THRONE, mighty Star-Angels who use their benevolent influences to guide other less exalted beings, humanity included, upon the path of evolution.

   There is a side of the Moon which we never see, but that hidden half is as potent a factor in creating the ebb and flow as the part of the Moon which is visible. Similarly, there is an invisible part of man which exerts a powerful influence in life, and as the tides are measured by the motion of Sun and Moon, so also the eventualities of existence are measured by the circling stars, which may therefore be called The Clock of Destiny, and knowledge of their import is an immense power; to the competent astrologer a horoscope reveals every secret of life.

   Thus, when you have given an astrologer the data of your birth, you have given him the key to your innermost soul, and there is no secret that he may not ferret out. This knowledge may be used for good or ill, to help or hurt, according to the nature of the man. Only a friend should be trusted with this key to your soul, and it should never be given to anyone base enough to prostitute a spiritual science for material gain.

   To the medical man astrology is invaluable in diagnosing disease and prescribing a remedy, for it reveals the hidden cause of all ailments in a manner that has often perplexed the skeptic and dumbfounded the scoffer.

   The opinion of thousands is of great value, but it does not prove anything, for thousands may hold an opposite view; occasionally a single man may be right and the rest of the world moves, as when Galileo maintained that the earth moves. Today the whole world has been converted to the opinion for which he suffered torture, and we assert that AS MAN IS A COMPOSITE BEING, CURES ARE SUCCESSFUL ONLY IN PROPORTION AS THEY REMEDY DEFECTS ON THE PHYSICAL, MORAL, AND MENTAL PLANES OF BEING. We also maintain that results may be obtained more easily at certain times when stellar rays are propitious to healing of a particular disease, or by treatment with remedies previously prepared under auspicious conditions.

   If you are a parent, the horoscope will aid you to detect the evil latent in your child and teach you how to apply the ounce of prevention. It will show you the good points also, that you may make a better man or woman of the Spirit entrusted to your care. It will reveal systematic weakness and enable you to guard the health of your child; it will show what talents are there, and how the life may be lived to a maximum of usefulness. Therefore, the message of the marching orbs is so important that you cannot afford to remain ignorant thereof.

   In order to aid those who are willing to help themselves we maintain a Correspondence Class in Astrology, but make no mistake, we do not teach fortune-telling. If that is what you are looking for, we have nothing for you.

   They embody the highest moral and spiritual principles, together with the loftiest system of ethics, for astrology is, to us, a phase of religion; we never look at a horoscope without feeling that we are in a holy presence, face to face with an immortal Spirit, and our attitude is one of prayer for light to guide that Spirit aright.

   Despite all we can say, many people write enclosing money for horoscopes, forcing us to spend valuable time writing letters of refusal and giving us the trouble of returning their money. Please do not annoy us; it will avail you nothing.

   CHRIST, taught the multitude in PARABLES, but explained the MYSTERIES to His disciples.

   PAUL gave MILK to the babes, but MEAT to the strong.

   Max Heindel, the founder and leader of The Rosicrucian Fellowship, endeavored to follow in their steps and give to interested and devoted students a DEEPER TEACHING than that promulgated in public.

   For that purpose we conduct a correspondence course in CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM. The General Secretary may admit applicants to the preliminary course, but ADVANCEMENT into the deeper degrees depends upon merit. it is for those alone who have been TRIED, and found true.

   Anyone who is not engaged in fortune-telling or similar methods of commercializing spiritual knowledge will, upon request, receive an application blank from the General Secretary, Rosicrucian Fellowship. When this blank is returned properly filled, he may admit the applicant to instruction in either or both correspondence courses.

   There are no fixed fees; no esoteric instruction is ever put in the balance against coin. At the same time, it cannot be given FREE, FOR NOTHING, for those who work to promulgate it must have the necessities of life. Type , paper, machinery, and postage also cost money, and UNLESS YOU PAY YOUR PART SOMEONE ELSE MUST PAY FOR YOU.

   There are a few who cannot contribute, and who need these Teachings as much or more than those who may take comfort from financial ease or affluence. If they make their condition known, they will receive as much attention as the largest contributors, but others are expected to contribute for their own good as well as for the good of the work. Remember, A CLOSED HAND THAT DOES NOT GIVE CANNOT RECEIVE.

   At the time of the printing of this edition, 1966, The Rosicrucian Fellowship Headquarters continues to carry forward its purpose of disseminating the Western Wisdom Teachings along the lines started by Max Heindel. In addition to the Philosophy and Astrology Courses given by Correspondence, a Course of twenty-eight lessons in Bible Interpretation, is now offered. A number of additional books by Max Heindel have been added to our list of publications, and also those on Bible Interpretation by Corinne Heline (an early pupil of Max Heindel). The number of volumes shipped out from Mt. Ecclesia to all parts of the world increases each year, and several new buildings have been erected since 1921, including more modern living quarters for workers.

   A day school is conducted every summer for at least four weeks during which classes in the Rosicrucian Philosophy, Spiritual Astrology (including erecting of the chart, delineation, and astro-analysis). and Bible Interpretation are taught by teachers well versed in their subjects. Anyone interested in the New Age Teachings is eligible to enroll, provided he or she is not a hypnotist, or professionally engaged as a medium, a palmist, or an astrologer.

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